Two seasons removed a National Championship,
Rock, Chalk, Jayhawks is poised to make another run at a title despite
somewhat of a turbulent off-season that not only saw several ballers
get into an altercation with members of the Kansas football team, but
also the first semester suspension of Brady Morningstar stemming from
a drunken driving arrest. Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins decided
to return to school rather than go to the NBA and on top of being two
of the most skilled players in the conference, bring plenty of experience
and leadership to KU. Add in the fact that everyone else is back
from a young team last year and that Bill Self landed a major recruit
in swing player Xavier (pronounced Zav-ee-ay) Henry, and there is no
questioning why Kansas is ranked #1 in the pre-season polls.

Player to Watch:
Taylor- Bill Self really cashed in last off-season when Tyshawn Taylor
de-committed from Marquette due to Tom Crean taking the head coaching
job at Indiana. Coming off a promising freshman season, Taylor
was critical in helping lead the U.S. U-19 team to a gold medal in the
World Championships. He was at the center of the incident with
the football team earlier this school year and will still take a backseat
to Collins and Aldrich, but could be the x-factor in the Jayhawks journey
to a national title.

2.
Texas (T-4th, 9-7, 23-12, NCAA Second Round)

2009-2010 Outlook:

Coming off an extremely disappointing
2008-2009 season, the Longhorns are ready to make a major splash on
the national scene. Damion James chose to return to school after
a less than stellar junior year and Florida transfer Jai Lucas will
finally give Texas the stability at the point that they lacked last
season. That?s not it though. The ?Horns boast one of
the top recruiting classes in the country led by ESPN.com?s #1 recruit
in the 2009 class; the uber-athletic, defensive stopping combo guard
Avery Bradley. Expectations have anything less than a trip to
a Final Four would be considered a disappointment.

Player to Watch:
Lucas- The son of former NBA?er John Lucas decided to transfer from
Florida because Nick Calathes was taking his role as the point guard.
He won?t be eligible until after the fall semester but should step
in right away and provide the Longhorns with a true distributor at the
point, a major void that hurt their team a year ago.

3.
Oklahoma (2nd, 13-3, 30-6, NCAA
Elite Eight)

2009-2010 Outlook:

Life in Norman post-Blake Griffin begins.
With the National Player of the Year gone, Jeff Capel?s team will
have some major shoes to fill since Griffin did it all for the Sooners
last season. Besides losing Blake, Oklahoma will be without two
other starters and their top bench contributor. With all that
said, OU is still in good shape. Sharp-shooting combo guard Willie
Warren turned down a spot in the NBA lottery to return to school and
be ?the guy? at Oklahoma. Capel also brings in a pair of talented
freshmen in Tiny Gallon and Tommy-Mason Griffin who should start right
away. The talent is there, it will just be a matter how quickly
the new players can acclimate themselves to their new roles.

Player to Watch: Warren- He wants
to be the new Blake Griffin at OU, and while he won?t dominate the
college like Griffin did, Warren should be an All-American candidate
and a Top-5 pick in next year?s NBA Draft. The sophomore is
explosive off the dribble and can also knock it down from deep.
He should become a common name in the college game by the start of conference
play.

4. Kansas State (T-4th,
9-7, 21-12, NIT)

2009-2010 Outlook:

K-State might have one of the most underrated
backcourts in the country in Dionte Clemente and Jacob Pullen.
Clemente stepped onto the national scene with his 44-point outburst
against Texas last season. Talented freshman Wally Judge and UConn
transfer Curtis Kelly will give the Wildcats some nice depth inside
to compliment their talented guard play.

Player to Watch:
Judge- He?s not Michael Beasley, but Judge is a big-time recruit who
should make a serious impact for the Wildcats. At 6-9, he is a
high-flying, athletic combo forward who can handle the ball on the perimeter.
His stay at K-State will likely be short, but very impacting.

5. Oklahoma State (T-4th,
9-7, 23-12, NCAA Second Round)

2009-2010 Outlook:

OSU used their four guard attack to put
together a solid 2008-2009 season. In losing seniors Byron Eaton
and Terrel Harris, the Cowboys will have to replace their second and
third leading scorers, but returning starters James Anderson and Keiton
Page, along with last year?s sixth man Obi Muonelo should pick up
their slack. The addition of Kentucky transfer Matt Pilgrim and
a pair of talented big man should mean OSU won?t have to rely solely
on their backcourt play this season.

Projected Depth Chart

F/C: Marshall Moses(Jr)/Torin Walker
(Fr)/Teeng Akol (So)

PF: Matt Pilgrim (Jr)/Jarred Shaw (Fr)

G/F: Obi Muonelo (Sr)/Roger Franklin
(Fr)

G: James Anderson (Jr)/Nick Sidorakis
(Jr)

PG: Keiton Page (So)/Ray Penn (Fr)/Fred
Gulley (Fr)/Reger Dowell (Fr)

Gone: PG-Byron Eaton, SG-Terrel
Harris, F-Anthony Brown

Player to Watch:
Anderson- A big-time scorer, Anderson can stroke it from deep with nearly
half of his field goal attempts last season coming from beyond the arc.
There is definitely NBA potential in Anderson who could average 20+
points a game this season. The Cowboys may need that type of scoring
from Anderson to help offset the losses of Eaton and Harris.

6. Texas A&M (T-4th,
9-7, 24-10, NCAA Second Round)

2009-2010 Outlook:

The Aggies received surprising news when
big man Chinemelu Elonu decided to stay in the draft, but got good news
when Bryan Davis and David Sloan chose to return to school. There
is other solid talent returning to A&M in guards B.J. Holmes and
Derrick Roland. The Aggies won?t have a true go-to player this
season but have options within their starting five. The bench
has a lot of question marks with several new faces joining the roster.

Projected Depth Chart

F/C: Bryan Davis (Sr)/James Blasczyk
(Fr)

PF: David Loubeau (So)/Nathan Walkup
(Jr)/Ray Turner (Fr)

G: Derrick Roland (Sr)/Khris Middleton
(Fr)/Derrek Lewis (Jr)

G: David Sloan (Sr)/Naji Hibbert (Fr)/Jeremy
Adams (Fr)

PG: B.J Homes (Jr)/Dash Harris (So)

Gone: G/F-Josh Carter, F/C-Chinemelu
Elonu

Player to Watch:
Davis- At 6-9, 240 pounds, Davis is the only established low post presence
the Aggies have. He throws his body around in the paint, but too
often found himself in foul trouble last season. Davis cannot
afford to commit early fouls this season due to inexperience up-front
on the Aggies? roster and will need to boost his averages of 26.7
minutes, 10.8 points, and 6.5 rebounds per game.

7.
Missouri (3rd, 12-4 in B12, 31-7 overall, NCAA
Elite 8)

2009-2010 Outlook:

One of the major surprises in college
basketball a season ago, Mizzou used their depth and tenacious full-court
game to advance to the Elite 8. Three major players from that
team are gone, but the Tigers still bring back some talented, defensive
minded guards. This season will come down to how their young bench
players gel into Mike Anderson?s system. If that process is
quick and the growing pains don?t last all season, there could be
a return trip to the tourney.

Projected Depth Chart

F/C: Keith Ramsey (Sr)/John Underwood
(Fr)/Steve Moore (So)

F: Justin Safford (Jr)/Laurence Bowers
(So)/Tyler Stone (Fr)

SG: Kim English (So)/Marcus Denmon (So)

G: Zaire Taylor (Sr)/Miguel Paul (So)

G: J.T. Tiller (Sr)/ Michael Dixon (Fr)

Gone: F-DeMarre Carroll, PF-Leo
Lyons, SG-Matt Lawrence

Player to Watch:
Tiller- The Tigers top returning scorer at just 8.4 points per game,
Tiller will combine with Zaire Taylor to be the leaders for Mizzou.
Tiller is a get after the ball defender, but will need to become more
of a scorer to make up for the loss of about 40 points per game from
graduated seniors.

8.
Baylor (9th, 5-11, 24-15, NIT)

2009-2010 Outlook:

After starting last season 15-3, the
Bears took a nose-dive the rest of the year, winning just five of their
final sixteen games. They lose their leading scorer and assist
man in Curtis Jerrells, their top rebounder in Kevin Rogers, and an
underrated complimentary player in Henry Dugat. Still, the backcourt
of LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter has the ability to lead this team.
Add in former John Calpari-Memphis recruit Nolan Dennis and Michigan
transfer Ekpe Udoh and Baylor has the potential to make some noise in
the Big 12.

Player to Watch:
Carter- The all-time leading scorer in high school basketball history
and the first McDonald?s All-American to ever play at Baylor, Carter
has had a solid three years for the Bears, but has lived in the shadows
of Jerrells. Now that Jerrells is gone, Carter needs to live up
to his potential if Baylor wants to have any chance of dancing come
March.

9.
Iowa State (10th, 4-12, 15-17)

2009-2010 Outlook:

A potential conference sleeper, Iowa
State received a huge boost when leading scorer and rebounder Craig
Brackins chose to stay in school and go to the association. He
may have his running mate in JUCO transfer Marquis Gilstrap who is expected
to do some big things this season. The Cyclones also return their
starting backcourt and center and if it all clicks, ISU could be poised
to be this season?s Missouri.

Player to Watch:
Brackins- The 6-10 power forward broke onto the national scene with
a 42 point, 14 rebound performance against Kansas. He could have
left Ames and been a late-lottery or mid-first round pick had he gone
pro this summer. Instead, Brackins chose to return to school and
will try to improve upon his impressive 20.2 points and 9.5 board averages
from last season.

10. Colorado (12th
in B12, 1-15 in B12, 9-22 overall)

2009-2010 Outlook:

This is a program that has struggled
for the past decade, having only made the NCAA Tournament once since
1998. 2008-2009 wasn?t much different as the Buffs finished
with the worst record in the Big 12. I doubt there will be a repeat
performance of that terrible a season, but it won?t be much better.
There is a lot of returning talent, but Jeff Bzdelik still has his work
cut out for him in turning Colorado into a competitive college basketball
team.

Player to Watch:
Higgins- The son of former NBA?er Rod Higgins, Cory is a big-time
scorer who could potentially be a second round draft pick when the time
comes for him. He doubled his scoring last season and will be
the go-to guy for the Buffs this season.

11. Texas Tech (11th,
3-13, 14-19)

2009-2010 Outlook:

The Red Raiders scored 167 points in
a 40-minute game last season against some school called, ?East Central.?
That still amazes me. What haunted Tech was their pathetic defense
which was constantly lit up by Big 12 teams. Their roster has
improved talent and there?s a slight chance Pat Knight?s team could
surprise some.

Player to Watch:
Singletary- No, not the Mike Singletary who takes his pants off to motivate
his team. In just 23 minutes a game last season, Singletary averaged
about 12 and 6 a night. With more minutes expected, the 6-6 junior
should form a nice 1-2 scoring punch with John Roberson.

12.
Nebraska (8th, 8-8, 18-12, NIT)

2009-2010 Outlook:

The Huskers held their own in the Big
12 last season, but loses four of their top five scorers from a year
ago. On a roster primarily consisting of underclassmen, this will
definitely be a re-loading season for Nebraska. They will once
again boast a guard heavy line-up which will be a big handicap in a
conference that has a lot of talented big men.

Player to Watch:
Henry- The only returning starter from last season, Henry will be counted
on both on and off the court to lead this team. He only averaged
eight points per game in a complimentary role and must become a more
reliable scorer or else the Huskers could struggle even worse than they
likely will.

This is a program that has struggled
for the past decade, having only made the NCAA Tournament once since
1998. 2008-2009 wasn?t much different as the Buffs finished
with the worst record in the Big 12. I doubt there will be a repeat
performance of that terrible a season, but it won?t be much better.
There is a lot of returning talent, but Jeff Bzdelik still has his work
cut out for him in turning Colorado into a competitive college basketball
team.

Player to Watch:
Higgins- The son of former NBA?er Rod Higgins, Cory is a big-time
scorer who could potentially be a second round draft pick when the time
comes for him. He doubled his scoring last season and will be
the go-to guy for the Buffs this season.

11. Texas Tech (11th,
3-13, 14-19)

2009-2010 Outlook:

The Red Raiders scored 167 points in
a 40-minute game last season against some school called, ?East Central.?
That still amazes me. What haunted Tech was their pathetic defense
which was constantly lit up by Big 12 teams. Their roster has
improved talent and there?s a slight chance Pat Knight?s team could
surprise some.

Player to Watch:
Singletary- No, not the Mike Singletary who takes his pants off to motivate
his team. In just 23 minutes a game last season, Singletary averaged
about 12 and 6 a night. With more minutes expected, the 6-6 junior
should form a nice 1-2 scoring punch with John Roberson.

12.
Nebraska (8th, 8-8, 18-12, NIT)

2009-2010 Outlook:

The Huskers held their own in the Big
12 last season, but loses four of their top five scorers from a year
ago. On a roster primarily consisting of underclassmen, this will
definitely be a re-loading season for Nebraska. They will once
again boast a guard heavy line-up which will be a big handicap in a
conference that has a lot of talented big men.

Player to Watch:
Henry- The only returning starter from last season, Henry will be counted
on both on and off the court to lead this team. He only averaged
eight points per game in a complimentary role and must become a more
reliable scorer or else the Huskers could struggle even worse than they
likely will.